I'll Be Home For Christmas
by GladiatorSwag
Summary: A Christmas one shot


_I'll be home for Christmas_

_You can count on me_

_Please have snow and mistletoe_

_And presents on the tree_

_Christmas Eve will find you_

_Where the love light gleams_

_I'll be home for Christmas_

_If only in my dreams_

_-I'll Be Home For Christmas _

* * *

Snow fell as quiet as a soft whisper outside of her living room window. The sound of car horns filled the silent room as impatient drivers rushed home to be with their families on Christmas Eve. No would be able to tell by her undecorated apartment that such a festive holiday was upon them.

She could not remember the last time she had really celebrated Christmas or any holiday for that matter. It was probably before her mother "died" since Eli Pope wasn't a "holiday person."

She hadn't covered her door with wrapping paper and hung lights around the windows. She didn't buy eggnog or walk around in an ugly sweater to celebrate the Hallmark card holiday. The closest she had come to giving out Christmas gifts was adding a little something extra to her teams' checks. She had even turned down the invitation from James to spend the holiday with him and Ella since Cyrus would probably find an excuse to work through the it.

Curling up into a ball in the corner of the sofa, she sat down her glass bowel of freshly popped popcorn and reached for the remote control and her glass of red wine. She bypassed Christmas movie after Christmas movie, secretly wishing the day would come and go so that the world could go back to normal. She paused briefly on a channel showing A Charlie Brown Christmas.

A sad smile crossed her face.

* * *

**_Five Years Ago_**

_She paced every inch of her hotel room floor, trying to keep herself for running to the peephole every time she heard footsteps in the hallway. She hated him for turning her into that type of girl. The type of girl who sat around, waiting for the man she was currently sleeping with to call or drop by. Considering the man she was currently sleeping with was married with children and running for the highest office in the land, she needed to get a grip and soon._

_There was a knock at the door. It was loud, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin, followed by three softer knocks. She would have known who was on the other side even it wasn't for the secret knock that he had deemed necessary. Her body's uncontrollable response whenever he was near, gave her visitor away._

_She ran her hands over her hair and then down the side of her clothes, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her black pants. She didn't have time to run to the bathroom and check her makeup._

_Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the door, fighting the urge to just swing the door open and jump into his arms. "H-hi..." Her face fell when she found herself staring directly at a tree instead of his blue eyes. "What is that?"_

_The tree was lowered and the blue eyes she longed to see were staring back at her._

_"It's our very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree." He smiled, obviously very proud of the scrawny looking tree he was still holding for her to see. "I was hoping we could decorate it. Maybe you'll finally get in the holiday spirit like the rest of us."_

_He moved pass her, not waiting for her to officially invite him inside, and handed her two plastic bags. She did a quick scan of the hallway to make sure that no one had seen him, and his tree, and then closed the door. She peeked in one of the bags once his back was to her and found more silver and blue bulbs than could possibly fit on the small tree._

_"Where should we put it?" He asked as he began searching for a flat surface to sit the tree on. "It needs to be near an outlet for the lights..."_

_She looked in the other bag and, sure enough, there were enough Christmas lights in there to cover her whole hotel room._

_She called his name from her spot by the door but went ignored as he continued to ramble on and on about a perfect spot for the tree... their tree. He'd brought them a tree... to decorate... together. Clearly, he had to see that it was too much too soon._

_"Fitz!" She shouted his name and gained his attention immediately. One look at the his happy face had her pushing pass her uncertainty and fighting her natural instincts to run far away from him. He was the happiest she had ever seen him and she couldn't take that away so she would have to play along. "What is a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree?'"_

_The smile slipped from his face. "Are you kidding?"_

_She shook her head._

_"You have never seen A Charlie Brown Christmas?" _

_She shook her head again, shifting under his confused stare._

_"That's impossible." He looked at her like she'd just revealed an extra toe. "It's a classic! We have to fix this. You cannot go the rest of your life without seeing it."_

* * *

She ended her short walk down memory lane before she could get struck by the wave of emotions that usually accompanied her on these trips. She drank enough of her wine to bring on the familiar fuzzy feeling in her head as she continued to channel surf. For the price her paid for cable every month, there should have been something, anything, on. By the time she reached the two hundreds, she had given up and settled for Fox News.

_"It looks like President Grant won't be joining his family for Christmas Eve after all._"

She tilted her head to the side, turning up the volume on the television.

_"According to a statement released by the White House, President Grant will be joining the First Lady and their three children on their Santa Barbara ranch tomorrow morning, on Christmas day, 'just in time to see what gifts Santa left America's Baby, Teddy Grant, for Christmas.' This comes after pictures surfaced on social media sites of President Grant serving lunch to Vietnam veterans in Vermont earlier this afternoon. The press release also stated that the First Lady chose to spend time with Teddy and his two older siblings, Jerry and Karen, who have been away at boarding school instead of joining President Grant."_

She sat her glass down and reached for her purse, dumping it over on the sofa and sending the contents everywhere. She ignored her cell phone, which had fallen on the floor, and searched through the mess for the phone he had given her. Images of the last time they were in Vermont together, ran through her head like a silent film as she fumbled with the phone. Dialing the only number programmed in the phone, she focused on listening to it ring instead of the voice on her television screen.

_"I guess he wanted to get an early start on campaigning..."_

She groaned and turned off the tv as the phone continued to ring. Normally, he picked up before the second ring. Maybe he knew why she was calling and was avoiding her. She was just about to hang up when the call was answered but not by the person that she wanted to talk to.

"Ms. Pope." Tom whispered. "The President isn't available right now.

"Why are you whispering?" She asked as she stood up from the sofa. "Put him on or, better yet, put him on Air Force One and send him home!"

"He _is_ home, ma'am."

She stopped in the middle of her hallway. She knew where he would be once she heard that he was in Vermont. The mere thought of the house he'd built for them caused her heart to do happy flips.

"Does he understand how not being with his family on Christmas Eve will be perceived?" She hastened to her bedroom. "He is supposed to be repairing his family image. His opponents will use this to rip him apart."

"He has spoken with both Mr. Beene and the First Lady." Tom sighed. "He has no intention on leaving before tomorrow."

"He doesn't want to talk to me." It wasn't a question.

"He wishes to not be disturbed by anyone."

She knew what the holidays meant to him and how much he loved spending them on the ranch with his children. He would never miss a second of their Winter Break to sit in an empty house on Christmas Eve. If he wasn't home, it was because something was wrong. Mellie or Cyrus had done or said something to upset him.

"Does that mean he doesn't want visitors as well?"

She stood in front of her closet, not sure exactly what it was that she was about to do.

"It is impossible to be a visitor in your own home, Ms. Pope."

There was a reason why she had always liked Tom. If she baked, he would definitely get a muffin basket. She would have find out what kind he liked and ask Abby to make some for her.

"Can you send someone for me in an hour? Same spot as the last time?"

She hung up the phone and tossed it on her bed after Tom promised to call her back when a car was waiting for her downstairs. Swinging open her closet doors, she began to push pull clothes off of their hangers, throwing the behind her, until she'd cleared a way to the back of the closet. She pushed boxes of old clothes and shoes out of the way until she found the one marked _Christmas Decorations_.

If she was going home for Christmas, there were a few things she would need.

* * *

She admired the details on the outside of the house as she made her way to the front door with the heels of her boots sinking in the snow. She'd been so upset with him the last time that she hadn't gotten a good look at it. Her favorite part was the floor to ceiling windows because in this house, in their house, they would never have to hide from anyone.

She rang the doorbell and hoped that he hadn't instructed the agents to shoot first and ask questions later. She had made Tom promise to not tell anyone, especially him, that she was coming. She was staring to regret every decision she'd made since finding out where he was when she heard the locks being turned.

"Who-" He was only able to get one word out and she knew it was because he was staring at a blast from a past that felt like three lifetimes ago. "You kept it?"

She lowered the tree and smiled nervously, having never felt more unsure of herself as she did in that moment. "Hi. How are you?"

"Hi." He breathed, reaching out to touch her face to see if she was indeed real. "What are you doing here?"

She gently shoved the tree at him and then dug around in her overnight bag. Pulling out an sealed DVD case, she waved it at him. "We never did get around to actually watching this."

He stilled her hand to read the title on the cover. "You still haven't seen it?"

She shook her head.

"Better late than never." He moved to the side and allowed her to enter the house, sitting to the tree down to help her with her coat. "You didn't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

She looked around the parts the house that she could see from where they were standing. She could see it... the life he'd dreamed for them when he designed it. She could picture it all so vividly.

Glancing back at him over her shoulder, she answered his question. "I wanted to come home for Christmas."

* * *

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! -Lauren**_


End file.
